Part 38 (1/2)
Chapter XVIII A Night at the Bastile
Pain, anguish, and suffering in huth hich a man is endowed We will not pretend to say that Heaven always apportions to a uish hich he afflicts him; for that, indeed, would not be true, since Heaven permits the existence of death, which is, soe open to those who are too closely pressed--too bitterly afflicted, as far as the body is concerned Suffering is in proportion to the strength which has been accorded; in other words, the weak sufferAnd what are the eleth? Is it not-- else--exercise, habit, experience? We shall not even take the trouble to demonstrate this, for it is an axio, stupefied and crushed in every sense and feeling, found himself led to a cell in the Bastile, he fancied death itself is but a sleep; that it, too, has its drea of his room at Vaux; that death had resulted fro out his drea one of those horrors, impossible to realize in life, which is tern who formerly wielded unlimited power To be present at--an actual witness, too--of this bitterness of death; to float, indecisively, in an incomprehensible , to see everything, without interfering in a single detail of agonizing suffering, was--so the king thought within hiht last forever ”Is this what is termed eternity--hell?” he murmured, at the moment the door was closed upon him, which we remember Baisemeaux had shut with his own hands He did not even look round hiainst the wall, he allowed himself to be carried away by the terrible supposition that he was already dead, as he closed his eyes, in order to avoid looking upon so even worse still ”How can I have died?” he said to hiht have been let down by some artificial means? But no! I do not remember to have felt a bruise, nor any shock either Would they not rather have poisoned me at my meals, or with the fumes of wax, as they did my ancestress, Jeanne d'Albret?” Suddenly, the chill of the dungeons seemed to fall like a wet cloak upon Louis's shoulders ”I have seen,” he said, ”al robes That pale face, so cal nerveless by his side; those li there betokened a sleep that was disturbed by dreaht have sent that royal corpse--him whom so many others had preceded, hurried away by hi: he was enthroned still upon that funeral couch, as upon a velvet armchair; he had not abdicated one title of his majesty God, who had not punished hi” A strange sound attracted the young man's attention
He looked round him, and saw on the mantel-shelf, just below an enormous crucifix, coarsely painted in fresco on the wall, a rat of enor all the ti look upon the new occupant of the cell The king could not resist a sudden iust: hea loud cry; and as if he but needed this cry, which escaped fronize himself, Louis knew that he was alive and in full possession of his natural senses ”A prisoner!” he cried ”I--I, a prisoner!” He looked round him for a bell to summon some one to him ”There are no bells in the Bastile,” he said, ”and it is in the Bastile I am imprisoned In ay can I have beento a conspiracy of M Fouquet I have been drawn to Vaux, as to a snare M
Fouquet cannot be acting alone in this affair His agent--That voice that I but just now heard was M d'Herblay's; I recognized it Colbert was right, then But what is Fouquet's object? To reign in ht the king, relapsing into gloo that which ainst my father
But the queen?--My mother, too? And La Valliere? Oh! La Valliere, she will have been abandoned to Madairl! Yes, it is--it must be so They have shut her up as they have me We are separated forever!”
And at this idea of separation the poor lover burst into a flood of tears and sobs and groans
”There is a governor in this place,” the king continued, in a fury of passion; ”I will speak to him, I will summon him to me”
He called--no voice replied to his He seized hold of his chair, and hurled it against the ainst the door, and awakened many a mournful echo in the profound depths of the staircase; but from a hu of the slight regard in which he was held at the Bastile Therefore, when his first fit of anger had passed away, having reh which there passed a streaht orb of approaching day, Louis began to call out, at first gently enough, then louder and louder still; but no one replied Twenty other attempts which he made, one after another, obtained no other or better success
His blood began to boil within him, and mount to his head His nature was such, that, accustomed to command, he trembled at the idea of disobedience The prisoner broke the chair, which was too heavy for hiainst the door He struck so loudly, and so repeatedly, that the perspiration soon began to pour down his face The sound became tremendous and continuous; certain stifled, smothered cries replied in different directions This sound produced a strange effect upon the king He paused to listen; it was the voice of the prisoners, formerly his victih the thick ceilings and the ainst the author of this noise, as doubtless their sighs and tears accused, in whispered tones, the author of their captivity After having deprived sothem to rob them of their rest This idea alth, or rather his well, bent upon obtaining some information, or a conclusion to the affair With a portion of the broken chair he recom in the corridor, behind the door of his cell, and a violent blohich was returned upon the door itself, made him cease his own
”Are you mad?” said a rude, brutal voice ”What is the ht the king; but he said aloud, politely, ”Monsieur, are you the governor of the Bastile?”
”My good fellow, your head is out of sorts,” replied the voice; ”but that is no reason why you should make such a terrible disturbance Be quiet; _ain
He heard a door on the corridor close; the jailer had just left, not condescending to reply a single word When the king had assured hier any bounds As agile as a tiger, he leaped from the table to the , and struck the iron bars with all his lass, the pieces of which fell clanking into the courtyard below He shouted with increasing hoarseness, ”The governor, the governor!” This excess lasted fully an hour, during which ti fever With his hair in disorder and matted on his forehead, his dress torn and covered with dust and plaster, his linen in shreds, the king never rested until his strength was utterly exhausted, and it was not until then that he clearly understood the pitiless thickness of the walls, the impenetrable nature of the cement, invincible to every influence but that of time, and that he possessed no other weapon but despair He leaned his forehead against the door, and let the feverish throbbings of his heart calle additional pulsation would have made it burst
”A iven to the prisoners will be brought to et an answer”
And the king tried to remember at what hour the first repast of the prisoners was served at the Bastile; he was ignorant even of this detail The feeling of reer, that he should have lived for five and twenty years a king, and in the enjoy bestowed a ht on the misery of those who had been unjustly deprived of their liberty The king blushed for very sha this fearful humiliation, did no more than render to the man the same torture as had been inflicted by thatcould be ious influences than the prostration of his heart andof such acute wretchedness But Louis dared not even kneel in prayer to God to entreat hiht,” he said; ”Heaven acts wisely It would be cowardly to pray to Heaven for that which I have so often refused e of his reflections, that is, of his agony of ain heard behind his door, followed this ti withdrawn fro bounded forward to be nearer to the person as about to enter, but, suddenly reflecting that it was a n, he paused, assumed a noble and calh, and waited with his back turned towards the , in order, to soitation from the eyes of the person as about to enter It was only a jailer with a basket of provisions The king looked at the man with restless anxiety, and waited until he spoke
”Ah!” said the latter, ”you have broken your chair I said you had done so! Why, you have gone quite , ”be careful what you say; it will be a very serious affair for you”
The jailer placed the basket on the table, and looked at his prisoner steadily ”What do you say?” he said
”Desire the governor to conity
”Come, my boy,” said the turnkey, ”you have always been very quiet and reasonable, but you are getting vicious, it seems, and I wish you to know it in tireat disturbance; that is an offense punishable by ieons Proain, and I will not say a word about it to the governor”
”I wish to see the governor,” replied the king, still governing his passions
”He will send you off to one of the dungeons, I tell you; so take care”
”I insist upon it, do you hear?”